


Illuminated Shadow

by CountSapphula



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 06:19:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10634040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CountSapphula/pseuds/CountSapphula
Summary: Widowmaker gets curious about Sombra's past





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with more irregularly scheduled SpiderByte

The most comforting moments that can be shared are those that are in between; the lulls between mission phases, the idle evenings, the tired early mornings that are intimate in their silence and a sense of solitude from the rest of the world.

This particular moment passes mere hours before dawn, Sombra too exhausted to return to her own room and Widowmaker too weary to care. It’s certainly a sight, Widowmaker thinks, having half of her own bed taken up by someone usually so restless she can hardly bear to stay still for five minutes without flipping through her newsfeeds.

“Careful you don’t fall asleep there,” Widowmaker warns as she places her visor and rifle on their respective stands. “I’m not going to let you stay out of pity.” Sombra smiles through her fatigue.

“We both know you would carry me back to my room at the very least. Even you aren’t so heartless as to leave me out in the hall all night.”

“Don’t try me.” Her sharp words have a dull edge.

“And let my troublemaker reputation fade? I don’t think so, _querida.”_ Sombra looks smugly towards Widowmaker. Widowmaker gives her a chiding look in return and sits on the bed next to her.

“Your brash attitude is going to end up costing you one of these days.”

“Too bad I didn’t learn from the last time, huh?”

“Luck won’t be on your side for long if you keep pushing it like this.”

“I prefer to think of it as a calculated gamble.”

Widowmaker sighs and looks down at Sombra. She seems almost peaceful, with her arms tucked behind her head and her eyes closed. Before Widowmaker can think it through, a question tumbles from her lips.

“Who were you before you were Sombra?”

Sombra’s expression barely changes, though her voice comes out flat. “Why do you want to know?”

“I’m curious.”

“That doesn’t answer anything.”

 _“S'il vous plaît, ma chérie?”_ Widowmaker croons in the same sweet, disarming tone she usually reserves for talking through the movement of her victims.

“Don’t you treat me like one of your boys. You can’t charm _me_ with pretty words, Amélie.”

“How do I charm you, then?”

Sombra turns her head away from Widowmaker. “You don’t. This story isn’t a narrative you would be interested in anyway.”

“Now what makes you say that?” Widowmaker sounds more bemused than offended.

“Look,” Sombra sighs, “there isn’t really a story at all. It wasn’t my past that built me, Widow. I couldn’t tell you how many others were left in the same decrepit conditions I was, yet there is only one of me.”

“Don’t try to tell me there isn’t any story here,” Widowmaker presses. “A mere child would not have been able to catch the attention of an international conspiracy.”

“I’m not just anyone.” Sombra’s characteristic mischievous tone sneaks back into her voice. “I thought you of all people would have known that already.”

“Start at the beginning of that, then. Why start hacking? Where did you learn?”

“Self taught.” Sombra pauses, yawns and closes her eyes. “I was good at it. Adults left me alone when I looked busy. They had all the others to look after, you know? And information was valuable currency. It bought me safety and something of a community.”

“Not much has changed there, has it?” Widowmaker asks with a hint of a smile. Sombra chuckles.

“Not much at all.”

“You said your past didn’t build you. Do you think you would have ended up the same if you grew up in different circumstances?”

“In better circumstances, you mean?” Sombra shrugs. “Probably. Most others don’t take well to me. Apparently I can be a little unnerving, who would have thought?”

“You? Unnerving?” Widowmaker asks in mock disbelief. “I could never believe it.”

“My point being,” Sombra continues, “that I’m sure I would have figured out the value of the right knowledge sooner or later. Being surrounded by corruption from a young age just helped… speed the process a little. I never changed. I grew into the person I always was.”

“Which brings you here,” Widowmaker finishes.

“In my defense, laying half asleep on a hot sniper’s bed wasn’t the end goal. I could have done that _without_ the decades of blackmail and extortion behind me.”

“It just helped speed the process a little.” The humor in her voice is clear. Sombra cracks a smile.

“I guess so.”

After a few seconds of silence Widowmaker speaks up again. “Why choose to operate through Talon?” Sombra doesn’t move, and for a moment Widowmaker is afraid she’s already fallen asleep. She finally stretches and sits back up, running her hands through her hair.

“No more questions. I’ll get out of your hair. Wouldn’t want you to make good on your threat.”

“I wouldn’t _actually_ kick you out to the hall, you know,” Widowmaker protests. Sombra chuckles as she stands.

“Oh, I know. Like I said - even you aren’t that heartless.”

“You give me more credit than I deserve.”

“Preferential treatment will do that.”

“Is this what you call preferential treatment?”

“Is it not?” Sombra pauses just before she gets to the door. “My turn before I go. Why the sudden interest?” Widowmaker takes a few seconds to mull over her answer.

“You made it quite clear you don’t intend on leaving my life anytime soon. I may as well know who I’m dealing with.”

“Consider this your free pass, then. After all,” Sombra grins, turning back to flash her typical mischievous smile, “with me, information rarely comes free.”

“Rarely, is it? Who’s showing preferential treatment now?”

Sombra waves as she walks out into the hall. “You got me. See you around, Widow.”

**Author's Note:**

> I did draw a picture that kind of accompanies this fic - I figure you can copy/paste from here if you want to see it! As always, thanks for reading!
> 
> http://count-sapphula.tumblr.com/post/159569361581/i-drew-a-scene-from-a-fic-i-dabbled-in-writing


End file.
